More schools open special programs to students from other districts

Oxford Superintendent William Skilling, sitting at a piano in the Oxford High School fine arts area. Under schools of choice, the district is accepting applications for Young Fives through ninth grade; 10-11th grade in International Baccalaureate, Bio-med, Engineering, and Fine Arts Academy; 10 to 12 in the International Iesidents Academy and ninth-10th grade in Early College., and Kindergarten-12th grade in the Virtual Academy.

Oakland Press readers have opinions on schools of choice

• Belinda Heflin - Proud to be a school of choice family in Walled Lake Consolidated School District. Our first son graduated with top honors and currently is at U of M. Our second is in elementary school with a love for science, and computers.

• Sue Carey - I live in Pontiac but my son will definitely Not be attending High School in Pontiac District. He will be attending Oxford.

•Heidibuggs Bonne - I am torn...If you have a bad principal, parents need to get involved with that school. BUT we pay the taxes. AND when you add more kids to the classroom the kids who are supposed to be getting the time don’t. However if we don’t have the numbers, we lose that school.

•Brenda Cummins - It’s a slippery slope.....read up on the Raleigh Wake county school system. They are a prime example of why not to do it. I see kids on busses for HOURS. So glad my children didn’t go to school here.•

•Christa Lee - (If children come from out of district) then everyone should have to pay the same taxes too.

•Neil Baxter - School of choice is a great program for those willing to put in the extra effort to drive every day. My kids actually did a private school which is still a choice. Sadly for too many the choice is not an option whether transportation or financing.

•Dawn Milmine - I live in Brandon district and my daughter is... in Waterford district.

In Oakland County and across Michigan, more districts are opening their schools to admit students from other districts to select programs.

At the same time, however, districts are limiting or excluding the oldest students from traditional high school programs under the state’s Schools of Choice program.

Many more suburban districts welcome the youngest children, some will take students through middle school; while urban districts that are suffering more from declining enrollment are opening their school to kindergarten through 12th grade.

This is the time of year when residents start seeing ads in newspapers, in the mail, on radio and TV lauding the attractive programs to entice parents to send their children to that particular school district.

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One of the districts that opens its doors the widest to students from other districts is Oxford, which will accept applications for several programs, including top ones, in most age groups.

The majority of districts will take applications until early September, just before Labor Day. A few have already closed enrollment or will close before summer. Some districts will only open enrollment again for second semester next year.

All of Oakland County’s school districts list the grade-levels they will accept, whether there are a limited or unlimited number of openings in that program or grade level; and strict application deadlines on the Oakland Schools intermediate district’s website.

If districts receive more applications than spaces available, they must hold a raffle to determine which children will be accepted.

School districts are not only competing with each other but with the charter schools that are also doing their own advertising.

For each child that a school wins in the competitive environment, they receive not only an average of $7,500 per student, they have the possibility of receiving $52 per pupil from the state for all students enrolled in the school district because participating in Schools of Choice is considered one of the eight best practices a school district should attain in order to get extra funding, said Gary G. Naeyaert, executive director of the Great Lakes Education Project.

Bob Maxfield, dean of Oakland University School of Education and Human Services, said Schools of Choice was promoted by former Gov. John Engler to create reform through competition in the market place, something that he said has definitely happened.

“When facing enrollment decline, all bets are off,” Maxfield said.

In order to get the dollars to keep programs going in their own districts some schools are even enrolling students from districts in other counties, Maxfield pointed out.